Increasingly, communication is accomplished via wireless technologies. Wireless devices such as cell phones, and personal digital assistants may be used to communicate voice and non-voice information using wireless signals over wireless networks. A wireless network is any communication system wherein wireless signals are communicated to and from wireless devices that utilize the system. The mobility associated with wireless communication creates a situation in which fraud and theft of services can become a significant problem.
The user of a wireless device may pay for access to certain functions of the wireless network. There is often an incentive for others to steal the functions paid for by the user. Certain other functions that the user performs via the wireless network may also be restricted. For example, the user may update their billing information (where to send bills, credit card info, etc.) via the wireless network. Access to such functions should normally be restricted to the user. One way to restrict access to functions of the network is to allow access only via authorized wireless devices. This may be accomplished, at least in part, by assigning a unique identifier to each wireless device and permitting access to restricted functions only via those devices associated with authorized users. An authorized user's wireless device may communicate a unique identifier to the wireless network in a secure fashion prior to accessing a restricted function. One limitation of this approach is that if an unauthorized third party gains possession of the authorized user's wireless device, they may then impersonate the authorized user to gain access to the restricted functions.